Quietly Courageous
by Cecilia Burgandy
Summary: Natalie Longbottom witnessed the torture of her parents. She now speaks no louder than a whisper. Nonetheless, when there's injustice, she never hesitates to come to the victim's aide. So what happens when this quietly courageous Gryffindor falls for a not so quiet troublemaker? Will she finally be able to overcome her fear of words-or will she delve further into the quiet solace?
1. Chapter 1

_**chapter one: solitude**_

Light shimmered through the wide window, glittering down on the pixie-like face of Natalie Longbottom. Her short, spiked dark brown hair caught the light and seemed now a caramel colour, rather than its usual dark chocolate hue. As the sun rays slid slowly over her features, Natalie opened her eyes to reveal a pair of shining blue-green orbs, drooping slightly with sleep. She groaned as the sun attempted to prod her awake with its light.

Natalie raised her arms above her head, yawning as she stretched her sore limbs.

"Natalie, dear!"

Natalie shut her eyes, sighing heavily. Across the room, her door creaked open, revealing a mop of slightly curling brown hair whose shade matched her own. She smiled wearily, scooting to where she was sitting up on her elbows.

"Hey Nev," she murmured, her soft voice barely reaching her brother's ears. But the ears of Neville Longbottom were trained to hear his older sister's soft tone, so he smiled in return, opening the door farther so he could fill the door frame. "Hey Nat," he greeted kindly. Natalie couldn't stop the smile from spreading wider across her face.

That was her baby brother; ever so sweet and gentle.

"Gran's calling," he continued bluntly, a slight glimmer catching in his eyes. Natalie giggled softly, shaking her head. "I couldn't tell," she joked, voice still quiet.

Neville felt slight pang of sadness squeeze his chest at hearing his sister's prominent speech impediment. Ever since their parents had been tortured when the Longbottom children were young, Natalie could not bring herself to speak above a subtle murmur. Neville himself, having not witnessed any part of the attack like his sister had, gained no such impediment, only a strong urge for vengeance.

"What's going through that head of yours, Nev?" Natalie asked her younger brother gently, eyes soft and welcoming-just as Neville vaguely recalled his mother's being. A lump formed in his throat, and Neville looked away before his tears could pool over his lower eyelids.

"Nothing," he croaked, turning back to his sister, barely in control of his emotions. "I'll leave you to get ready then." Without a backwards glance, he hurried away before Natalie could utter a single soft-spoken syllable.

In the hallway right before the stairs leading to the kitchen, Neville leaned against the wall, hands covering his face as slow tears made their way down his face. The memory of his mother smiling down at him played behind his closed eyes...his father throwing him up in the air, making Neville squeal...Natalie teetering around the living room giggling as their father chased her around the furniture... their mother and father dancing in the kitchen while the children clapped delightedly, twirling and laughing as the cookies cooled on top of the oven...the family all in the same bed during a midnight thunderstorm, Alice Longbottom's hands on her son's hair as she whispered comforting words to the two children...

Memory after memory of Neville's parents flooded into his head, making him bite his lip in order to suppress a wet sob. This always happened when he looked at his sister too long; she held a close resemblance to both her parents. Natalie possessed the bodily frame and face of their mother-small and thin with pixie-like features. Her eye color was that of their father, with a slight shine that both of their parents had in their own. Natalie's smile was her father's, her kindness was both of theirs, her laugh was their mother's-so many attributes that reminded Neville of their dead parents, and it hurt him every moment.

Inside her room, Natalie continued staring at the doorway, a slight weight pressing onto her chest. She knew that Neville hated looking at her-sadly, Natalie had gained most of the attributes that her parents had, while Neville was only a vague outline of their mad-driven parents.

There was no fixing this issue, and going after him would only make it worse, but Natalie slipped out of her room to see Neville crying silently in the hall before the stairs. She padded toward him with her bare feet and slid her arms around her brother's neck, pressing her cheek to his shaking shoulder. He grasped one of her hands with his, clinging to her like a life line. They were close, because of the accident-close enough to where they could practically read one another's minds. Natalie could feel the pain and loneliness radiating off her brother, evident almost always but even more so at this moment, with the memory of their parents stuck to his mind like an overly persistent leech.

"They'd be proud of you, Neville," she whispered to him gently. "I know they would. You've grown up so much."

Neville snorted, unable to meet her eyes out of pure, raw shame.

"They would be proud of you," he corrected. "You're the smartest person in your year, you've nearly single-handedly raised me, you're funny, sweet, hands-down the prettiest girl in the whole school...You've achieved everything, Nat, but I've achieved nothing..They'd be proud of you, not me."

Natalie was shaking her head by the end of her brother's short speech.

"Neville, I know them," she whispered. "They would be just as proud of you, probably even more so. That's because you're everything that they were: you're kind and loving and generous and brave. So what you're not the best in your year? There's so much more to a person-to the world really-than the knowledge in the classroom. They would be just as proud of you, for everything you've done in your life and everything you will do, because they loved you so much, Neville, they really did."

Neville looked at her through teary eyes. "You really think so?" he murmured. Natalie gave her little brother a weak smile, pressing a hand to his face and stroking away his tears with her thumb. "I know so, Nev," she responded surely.

The two smiled at one another, a brother and sister bonded closer than any other, with the pain they have endured along with the love they share.

"NEVILLE! NATALIE!"

The Longbottom siblings winced together at the sound of their grandmother's voice.

"You think we should go?" Neville asked nervously, his nervous eyes trained on his sister.

Natalie stared at him carefully, gaze calm and collected.

"Well," she replied slowly, dropping her head onto her brother's shoulder and shutting her eyes. "She can't really hurt her two grandchildren that witnessed the torture of their parents, now can she?"

She felt rather than saw Neville chuckle as his strong arm came around her shoulders.

"No she can't," he whispered back.


	2. Chapter 2

Natalie suppressed a yawn as her grandmother chattered aimlessly at her elbow and occasionally snapped at Neville to keep his elbows off the table or stop playing with his food. At each of their Gran's pointless demands, Natalie shot her a disdainful look, which the old woman blatantly ignored. Neville, however, caught his sister's distaste for their grandmother's reproachful comments. A small smile escaped as he witnessed this, and he dropped his head in an attempt to hide it.

"Natalie," Gran began suddenly as she turned to her granddaughter. "You will look out for Neville, won't you dear? You know he needs someone to watch over him to make sure he doesn't do anything...alarming."

Natalie raised her eyebrows at her grandmother, like she did every year when Gran posed this question.

"I'm sure Neville is able to handle himself, Gran," the elder Longbottom states. "I'm sure I've told you this before."

Gran waved her hand dismissively at Natalie.

"Nonetheless," she crowed, "I worry about him! He could hurt himself-or what little pride the family has left-at any moment-."

"I'm right here, Gran!" Neville cried finally.

The dining room echoes with his outburst. Natalie stared at her younger brother kindly; his grandmother, however, only sighed and hummed, "Of course your are, dear" before returning to her morning meal like nothing had happened. Neville's ears flushed scarlet at his grandmother's disregard. Natalie, at the same moment, turned to glare at the old woman angrily.

Natalie had always hated how Gran praised the older Longbottom but ridiculed the younger. She knew her brother felt like he was less than everyone, though most of all his sister. She didn't feel like he truly understood how remarkable he was, since Gran and others felt inclined to remind him of his shortcomings every day. Neville's morale was deteriorating-and that scared Natalie.

"C'mon, Nev," Natalie said to her brother, standing. "Let's go get some fresh air; it's a beautiful day out." Neville jumped up quickly to comply, reaching for her outstretched hand. Within minutes the Longbottom siblings were strolling through some of the trees surrounding their home.

Natalie glanced over at her brother discreetly. There were few moments where Natalie could study Neville closely, so she took every opportunity to do so. His hair had grown longer than she was accustomed to, while also acquiring a wild curl that made him look younger than his 14 years. Fearful eyes peeked out from underneath that mop of unmanageable curls. Natalie found her brother's constant fear to be an effect of their parents torture; that much pain inflicted on a young child tends to leave its mark, even if it's not always noticeable.

"She probably would be happier if I didn't exist."

Natalie's head snapped towards her brother in shock.

"Neville!" she cried.

"It's true!" he insisted. "She hates that I'm nothing like you or Dad; I'm just a disappointment to her, Mum, Dad and the Longbottom name-."

"You will stop that," Natalie snapped, her voice rising slightly. Natalie stared at his older sister in surprise. Natalie looked back at him sternly. The two Longbotton's stared at one another, letting the wind stir the tension between them.

"I won't let you think that, Neville," Natalie announced finally. Her voice had altered back to its soft tone. "You're not a disappointment to anyone-ESPECIALLY not Mum or Dad. You will never, ever say anything like that about yourself-or anyone-again."

At the end of her speech, silence followed. Natalie looked over at her brother. Neville looked sheepish, his eyes downcast and ears tinged red. Her stern eyes softened at the sight and Natalie reached out a hand to cup her brother's cheek comfortingly. His watery eyes met hers eventually with Natalie gazing at him gently.

"Everyone is worth something, Neville," she whispered. "Nobody is greater than another in worth. Despite what other people may think, everyone, whether they be witch, wizard, house-elf or Muggle, is equal in this world. We may have magic to help us through our world, Nev, but Muggles-they're the lucky ones because they have an understanding."

Neville nodded at his sister carefully. "You know something, Nat?" he said slowly. Natalie cocked her head curiously and beckoned for him to continue. "Neville's face broke into a wide smile.

"I think you could be the Minister one day."

The elder Longbottom stood for a moment expressionlessly before throwing back her head and letting out a melodic laugh. Neville joined in, and the Longbottom siblings stood together as the wind whisked away their worries for a time.


End file.
